This article provides companies an overview of the major trends and areas to watch out in 2024 and the upcoming years.

Top 1: Autonomous Agents

Tencent recently released a framework called AppAgents that can operate mobile apps. We will see a trend towards agents taking over tasks for human in AI products and applications.

Autonomous agents are systems or software programs capable of independent action on behalf of their users or creators. Their functionality is rooted in AI and machine learning, enabling them to make decisions and perform tasks without human intervention.

For example, instead of just prompting generative AI systems to create an image, then a logo, etc. to finally develop a website, the AI system creates directly subtasks that create a logo, check if a domain name is available and help create a website.

Top 2: Adoption and Governance of Generative AI Tools

We will see a more widespread adoption in Generative AI in 2024: "We know that nearly two-thirds of employees are already playing around and experimenting with AI in their job or in their personal life," according to Techtarget. "We really expect that this is going to be more normal in our everyday business practices in 2024."

However, governance issues such as data policy, cybersecurity, and model compliance remain unresolved and are top priorities for 2024 in the field of Generative AI. Although companies like JPMorgan, Samsung, and Chase have temporarily, or at least partially, banned the use of the ChatGPT Plus version, new forms of application will be required.

One potential solution is the "Bring Your Own AI" approach, where data is intended to be accessible locally or in sandbox environments. This would enable companies dealing with sensitive data to experiment safely.

Contact us if you want to find insights in your company data without sending sensitive data to OpenAI.

Top 3: Open source Generative AI models on the raise

Since closed environments like OpenAI are expensive and because SME often do not have the resources to create own data models or products we will see an increase of usage of free, open source models. Models like Vincuna, Mixtral (which outperforms the LLaMA 2 family and the GPT3.5 base model. Mixtral matches or outperforms Llama 2 70B, as well as GPT3.5), Flamingo (OpenFlamingo is an open-source version of DeepMind’s Flamingo model, built on top of the LLaMA large language model) will be more and more integrated in AI products. HuggingFace also provides some great Generative AI models. Here you find a comprehensive comparison between different llm models.

Top 4: Generative AI on hardware devices and smartphones

Companies such as Apple and Google are developing AI assistants and offline language models (LLMs) that reduce cloud costs and perform faster than purely cloud-based solutions. We can expect more personalized and informative results owing to the integration with personal devices, a point also highlighted by Qualcomm Technologies. The combination of offline LLMs with efficient, locally running LLM models is highly sought after in industrial applications

Top 5: Multimodality and voice interfaces

Multimodality, which allows for the conversion of one media form into another (e.g., text to image, speech to text, text to video), is expected to gain traction in 2024. While GPT-4-Vision already has the capability to interpret images, we anticipate a broader application in business contexts this year. Some notable use cases include the analysis of medical research and diagnostics (explore this further in our "Generative AI in Healthcare, Medicine, and Pharmaceuticals" trainings), and the generation of manuals from computer-generated designs, such as CADs, architectural plans, and electrical engineering projects, among others.

Voice assistants are poised to become integral in customer care center operations, automating numerous industries where waiting on hold is currently the norm. This includes sectors such as hospitality, medical centers, banking, insurance call centers, restaurant reservations, and the entertainment industry.

Top 6: AI Influencers and Avatars for business cases

Influencers will increasingly be augmented by machines, or at least will utilize tools to create content and movies more quickly. Find more here. Furthermore, digital avatar platforms will replace the labour-intensive creators market. Additionally, digital avatar platforms are poised to transform the labor-intensive creators' market. Industries that will be impacted include movies, gaming, music (e.g. song generation), modeling, advertising, education, and content creation (such as YouTube, TikTok, and social media professionals), as well as consultancy firms. These sectors will increasingly automate their work using intelligent avatars to reduce production costs and enhance efficiency.

Top 7: Advanced Robotics and Gaming with LLMs

Advanced Robotics that combines robotics with the power of large language models and are commercially available could be coming soon. Some examples are: OpenAI's NEO, Optimus from Tesla, and others. Also in gaming, we will see more natural language interactions in conversations with characters. Unreal engine already provides plugins to build intelligent characters within games.

Top 8: Generative AI leads to new job market and wage decrease

The shift towards greater automation is likely to result in a long-term decrease in wages, as labor-intensive tasks (such as programming, consulting, content creation, and management) can be executed more efficiently. Next year, we can expect to see more changes in job roles, maybe not yet salary levels due to the impact of Generative AI.

Top 9: Upskilling and openness to Generative AI will positively contribute to retaining and attracting talent

Companies see the urge to train their employees as existing jobs within companies change. People need to understand how to use Generative AI in a compliant, safe and productive way. Companies that embrace the new technology and upskill their employees will win in the longterm because of the following reasons:

1) Creation of new business value and models

2) Efficiency gains thanks to more automation

3) A culture of change and experimental openess

4) Through 3) attract more talents than companies who do not

5) Provide career paths and new options for their employees to grow

Top 10: Process Automation meets Generative AI

Thanks to the development of more use-case-specific language model (LLM) models, MLOps, and LLM flow builders, enterprises will be able to integrate their operational and business processes with advanced Generative AI technology. The year 2024 is certainly when we will witness many startups and companies delivering significant value by improving process automation through the use of Generative AI.

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